State CIO Keith Jones to depart
State Department CIO Keith Jones is set to leave his post, FedScoop has learned.
An email note announcing the IT leader’s departure was circulated to staff at the agency in recent days, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Jones joined the department in January last year, leaving the consulting firm Edgewater Group, which he founded.
He was the first CIO to be appointed by the Biden administration among the seven agencies with politically appointed CIOs.
Before entering the private sector, Jones served six years as deputy CIO of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
In total, Jones departs from the federal government after 38 years of service. Further details about his next destination were not immediately available.
IT leaders at the State Department over the last two years have faced the challenge of supporting the agency as it responds to major global challenges including the COVID-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine.
According to a GAO report in March, the State Department spent $55.7 million of COVID-19 relief funding provided by Congress on expanding its IT capacity.
The department’s Bureau of Information Resource Management used the money to carry out changes needed for maximum telework, which included the purchase of additional licenses and infrastructure for staff to remotely access State’s network, Global OpenNet.
The State Department could not immediately be reached.
